Three-year study abroad program to pay for students' study and living expenses

HONOLULU — Leeward Community College students Jaime Jose and Dustin Miyamoto have been selected as recipients of the Monbusho (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship program. Offered by the Japanese government to all UH community college (UHCC) students, the prestigious three-year study abroad program will cover study and living expenses for the students to attend a professional training school in Japan.

Jose and Miyamoto will begin their program in April 2006 and will receive one year of intensive Japanese language training followed by two years of professional education and training in their chosen area at selected Senshu-gakko (Japanese community college/training program). Their program will conclude in March 2009.

"These Monbusho scholarships are life changing opportunities for our UH community college students," said Leon Richards, UHCC executive director for international education. "Our students will live and study in a truly international and Japanese learning environment with students from around the world."

Jose is currently a sophomore studying liberal arts. He plans to study tourism during his program in Japan. His interest in learning to be fluent in Japanese and establishing a career in Hawaiʻi has led him to apply for the scholarship. Jose stated, "I‘ve always been interested in learning Japanese and feel that I can benefit in studying tourism since Hawaiʻi has so many ties to tourism and importing goods and services from Japan."

Miyamoto, a freshman in liberal arts, will also study tourism in Japan. A previous one-month study abroad trip to Nagoya, Japan led him to take advantage of the opportunity to continue his studies there. Miyamoto noted, "I look forward to college life in Japan. Instead of being on the outside looking into the school life, I will be able to experience it for myself. It‘s an opportunity that won‘t present itself to me again."

Both Jose and Miyamoto are 2004 graduates of Pearl City High School.

This is the fifth year the University of Hawaiʻi has participated in the Monbukagakusho Scholarship program. Applicants go through a rigorous qualification process that includes a number of exams and an interview by a panel of judges including staff from the Japanese Consulate of Hawaiʻi. Students are then ranked based on their exam and interview scores. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture finally selects two to three students to be admitted into the program. Six UHCC students applied for the 2006-2009 scholarship.

ABOUT THE MONBUSHO SCHOLARSHIPThe Monbusho (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship offered by the Japanese Government to provide a connection-building experience for people from a wide variety of backgrounds and talents. To date, some 55,000 students from approximately 145 countries and regions around the world have studied in Japan under the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship program.